Shinto Wedding in Kamakura – Tsurugaoka Hachimangu

Almost every time I visit the grand shrine in Kamakura, the Tsurugaoka Hachimangu there seems to be a wedding going on. It’s a great opportunity to see the finest kimono and listen to the thousand of years old ceremonial music being played live. I caught this ceremony a couple of days ago, the bride looked really nervous as she was taking instructions from the priest assistants. Since it’s currently Golden Week here in Japan the shrine was packed with tourists and visitors enjoying the great weather and that in itself should be enough to make any bride nervous! The groom looked much more relaxed. It’s not all that common to see these traditional ceremonies performed out in the open, usually they are confined to the inner sanctum of the shrines. At most you can see the traditional wedding parade if you visit places like the Meiji Jingu in central Tokyo, but this shrine in Kamakura (Kanagawa prefecture) is one of the best for seeing traditional weddings!

This brings back memories of my short time living in Tokyo. I would often frequent Nogi Shrine sales but one day, I hadn’t realised that there was no sale, instead, there was a Shinto wedding. I could hear the wailing sound coming from around the corner and when I turned I was almost brought to tears. I tip toed around the gravel pathway so as not to disturb the ceremony and was able to video for a brief period with my iphone these wonderful proceedings, such a wonderful memory that I will cherish.